


Duels at Dawn

by orphan_account



Category: Fire Emblem, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-25
Updated: 2008-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-18 14:57:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/190078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mia declares Ike to be her eternal rival. Ike decides to go along with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Duels at Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> For Heba  
> 2008 Christmas  
> Prompt: Mia/Ike, title "Duels at Dawn"

"Commander Ike!" Mia cried from somewhere outside Ike's tent. There was a very muffled thump, quite soft.

With a muffled curse, Ike threw back his blankets and half-walked, half-staggered to the entrance of his tent. He pushed away the tent flaps, and was promptly greeted by the sight of one Mia, something white draped over her non-sword arm, in the act of bending down to the ground and picking up a stone.

Ike sighed. "What do you want, Mia?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. Then he looked at the rock Mia was holding, and then at the rocks that lay scattered around his tent. He drew a conclusion. "Were you trying to wake me up by throwing rocks at my tent?" he said, with only a very tiny part of him incredulous. This was Mia, after all. "I hate to go all Soren on you, but you're supposed to do that to windows -- glass windows, not tent doors."

Mia -- well, to say that she nodded wouldn't describe it properly. She bounced, her entire body going up and down like the motion of her head. "Yup," she said, "Rhys suggested it." She waved her sword behind her; Ike looked closer, and noticed Rhys behind Mia attempting to avoid Mia's sword. He gave Ike a rueful look and mouthed something that looked like "I thought it wouldn't wake you." Ike wasn't in much of a mood to properly appreciate Rhys's attempt at intervention though, and so he only glared at the poor bishop.

"Commander Ike!" Mia repeated. Ike wanted to cover his ears and eyes; the sun was barely up, and they were still recovering from the battle with Ashera. He was the one who defeated a goddess--surely he deserved some rest? "Wear this!" She tossed the white thing to him.

Ike unfolded it. It was a long flowing robe, rather like Soren's. In fact, it looked _exactly_ like Soren's. "It's a robe," he said, just to make sure.

"Yes! I got it from Soren! You're my archrival now!"

"I... am?"

"Yes! I've beaten every other swordmaster in the army. You're the only one left, Commander Ike, so you have to be my archrival." Mia did that bounce-nod again. "Let's go spar and see who's better! I brought Rhys along, so he can heal us afterward and we can spar again." She looked rather pleased with herself, though Rhys did not look half as happy.

Ike couldn't quite get his mind wrapped around the idea of the robe. Mia, sparring, and Rhys were linked commonly enough, but the robe was new. "And the robe is for what?" he asked cautiously.

"My archrival wears flowing white robes!" Then, in a less exclamatory sort of stone, she added, "That's what the soothsayer said, anyway." Then she frowned. "I think she said that he'd ride a horse, too. Ike, do you ride a horse?"

"...I thought everyone in the army knew I prefer to fight on foot."

Apparently, that was a detail that could be ignored. "Your sister does," Mia continued blithely on, "that's close enough. The fortune-teller must have gotten confused or something."

She looked at him expectantly.

Ike... stared back.

"Well?" she asked after a long, silent minute, tapping a foot impatiently. "Aren't you going to fetch Ragnell?"

"Ragnell? What for?"

"For the spar, of course."

"Isn't that a bit much for a spar?"

She laughed. "Don't be silly. I have Alondite right here," she said, holding said sword up. "It can't be a proper spar between rivals without rival swords of equal power being used."

Ike felt strongly that he should point out that Rhys couldn't actually bring anyone back from the dead, and that using those two swords guaranteed destruction to their surroundings and maybe death to themselves. He decided to refrain from doing so, in case it gave Mia another idea. Instead he said, "Wouldn't two iron swords do the same?"

"Rival sw--"

"--that were forged by rival blacksmiths," Ike added hastily.

"I guess that would work." She didn't look entirely happy.

Ike noticed her expression, and decided to resign himself to his fate before an alternative presented itself to Mia. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go to the training area."

"But rival sw--"

"Soren will have something, I'm sure. Anyway, this is our first spar -- it won't be a proper dramatic fight until we get to know each other better." Ike started walking, knowing that Mia would follow. He pointedly ignored the crowd of people that were watching in amusement.

Ike won. Mia managed to dodge most of his blows, but when he finally managed to land a hit, a single blow was all it took for Rhys to come looking worried and telling them to stop. His own wounds were numerous but light.

Some days later, Ike would agree that yes, getting up at dawn was a pain, and complain rather bitterly about it to an amused Soren. He decided not to mention that he was actually getting better, and that he quite enjoyed the spars.

Mia, it seemed, was content with Ike as a rival. When a sword-wielding paladin turned up in a nearby town and declared that _he_ was looking for his eternal rival, Mia never went to see him, despite repeated hints from other members of the Greil Mercenaries.


End file.
